Watershed Management

Anand Kumar                anand@sdalt.ernet.in

Land and water are the basic natural resources for biomass production and constitute the core of ecological systems. Our natural resource base is under great stress in many parts of the country due to severe biotic pressure and ever intensifying development, as is evident from the current scenario and projected demands. The current scenario and future projections will amply demonstrate that scientific planning and management of the natural resources has now become an imperative rather than an option for sustainable development of India.

In recent times, development of land and water resources is being planned on the basis of natural hydrological entities (like watersheds), rather than the administrative boundaries. Such development plans are sustainable in nature. In fact, they facilitate the conservation of ecology and enhancement of the productivity of mankind. The watershed approach is more rational because the resources of land and water have optimum interaction and synergistic effect when developed on a watershed basis.

What is a Watershed?

Watershed Boundary

A typical Watershed Boundary

A watershed is a defined area that has an undulating terrain from which the entire rain water drains through a single outlet. This outlet may be a nallah, stream, tributary or a large river. A watershed can cover a large multi-state area or a relatively small area, like the watershed of a small stream, pond or wetland. Larger watersheds are made up of numerous smaller watersheds, often called sub-watersheds or sub-basins.

Of all the units possible for containing a conservation project - villages, states, provinces, and countries - the only "natural" project area is that of a watershed. It is natural because it allows planners to focus on all the effects of downhill run-off in a given area and to plan accordingly to control or contain it.

Why Watershed?

l The watershed is a geographic area draining to a common stream, lake or river. Watersheds are delineated by topography.
l The watershed approach is logical for evaluating the biophysical linkages of upland and downstream activities because these are linked within the watershed by the hydrological cycle.
l The approach is holistic, enabling planners and managers to consider the various facets of resource development.
l The chain of environmental impacts that often result from land use activities and upland disturbances can be readily examined within the watershed context.
l The approach has a strong economic logic. Many factors that are externalities in relation to land use practices on an individual farm are internalized when the watershed is considered as a unit.
l

 The watershed provinces a framework for analyzing the effects of human interactions with the environment. Environmental impacts within the watershed are in a feedback loop with changes in the social system.
l The approach can be integrated with or be a part of programmes including forestry, soil conservation, rural and community development and farming systems.
   
Components of Watershed
l Soil and Land Management
l Water Management
l Crop management
l Afforestation
l Pasture/Fodder Development
l Livestock Management
l Rural Energy Management
l Farm and Non-sfarm value addition activities

What is Watershed Management?

Watershed management is the rational utlilization of land and water resources for optimum production with minimum hazard to natural resources. It essentially relates to soil and water conservation in the watershed which means proper land use; protecting land against all forms of deterioration; building and maintaining soil fertility; conserving water for farm use, proper management of local water for drainage; flood protection and sediment reduction; and increasing productivity from all land uses. It is a plan of activity geared towards attaining specific goals. The overall objectives of all watershed management programmes are:

l Control of soil erosion and land degradation
l Reclamation and rehabilitation of waste degraded lands
l Land use revisions consistent with land capability
l Optimal management of croplands, grasslands and forests
l Conservation and management of water resources
   
Principles of Watershed Management
l Utilizing the land according to its capability
l Putting adequate vegetation cover on the soil during the rainy season
l Conserving as much rain water as possible at the place where it falls
l Draining out excess water with a safe velocity and diverting it to storage ponds and store it for future use
l Avoiding gully formation and putting checks at suitable intervals to control soil erosion and recharge ground water
l Maximizing productivity per unit area, per unit time and per unit of water
l  Increasing cropping intensity and land equivalent ration through intercropping and sequence cropping
l Safe utilization of marginal lands through alternate land use systems
l

Ensuring sustainability of the eco-systems befitting the man-animal-plant-land-water-complex in the watershed
l Maximizing the combined income from the inter-related and dynamic crop-livestock-tree-labour complex over years
l Stabilizing total income and cutting down risks during aberrant weather situations
l Improving infrastructure facilities with regard to storage, transportation and marketing.
   
Benefits of Watershed Management
l  It is a productive process
l Conserves Land and water
l Conserves moisture in rainfed areas
l Checks siltation in reservoirs
l Collects surplus run-off for meeting the drinking water requirements of livestock and human population
l Improves the main and on-farm irrigation system for increased productivity
l Balances non-agricultural uses of land and water with agriculture, animal husbandry and allied uses of land and water
l Generates income and employment in harmony with land and agro-climatic conditions q

 

Back to Contents

 
    Donation Home

Contact Us

About Us